Learn about Frederick Douglass’ visits to city

CAMBRIDGE — With the Frederick Douglass Bicentennial being recognized throughout the country, and world, the local impact and significance of his consequential life has been largely overlooked.

Did you know that famous abolitionist and orator Frederick Douglass was born in the next county over from where Harriet Tubman was born on Maryland’s Eastern Shore? Recently some interesting history about Douglass’s visits to Cambridge, has been rediscovered, and on Dec. 22, from 10:30 a.m. to noon you can join the Walking Tour of Frederick Douglass in Cambridge.

The tour retraces the steps that Douglass took during two visits to Cambridge in 1877 and 1878, and includes two stops along the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway. (Stops #3 and #4). This year marks 200 years since Douglass’s birth in neighboring Talbot County.

The tour is led by John Muller, historian and author of “Frederick Douglass in Washington, D.C.: The Lion of Anacostia.” Tickets cost $15. Find details and buy tickets.

Cambridge is also home to the Harriet Tubman Museum & Educational Center, and about 20 minutes drive from the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Visitor Center. Both are sites along the Harriet Tubman Underground Railroad Byway.

Join Mr. Muller for the debut of a special walking tour, “Frederick Douglass in Cambridge,” which will share the importance of the visits Dr. Douglass made to Cambridge in 1877 and 1878.

The tour will begin at Long Wharf, where Douglass arrived in Cambridge, and proceed up High Street past the Courthouse and Christ Episcopal Church. Stopping at Waugh Chapel United Methodist Church and then proceeding down Pine Street to Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church, where Douglass addressed a multi-racial gathering including members of the Lloyd family, the tour will interweave the local history of the Rev. Henry Augustus Monroe, Governor Henry Lloyd, John Fletcher Hurst and others.

The tour will formally conclude on Pine Street in front of Bethel AME Church, which is a historic African-American community. Tour goers are encouraged to explore downtown Cambridge following the tour and get lunch at a nearby eatery on the adjacent Race Street.

For food options visit: https://visitdorchester.org/eat-and-drink

Not included in the formal tour is the Harriet Tubman Museum and Educational Center at 424 Race St., open noon to 4 p.m. on Saturdays.
For information you may contact Mr. Muller at 202-236-3413 (call or text).

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